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[oahda]

Yeah. Feel no guilt about taking a break, because then the break will have been for naught and your stress will return. You deserved it and a few days more is nothing. Really nice place you went to. We've finally found some neat forest paths around here, so now I have a second sanctuary besides the tub. Nice places can do a lot for the mood.

You seem to be keeping up the good work!

As for whether snow in June is weird or not, that depends completely on where you are on the planet and I just realised I don't know where you are. :p

[Zizka]

I for one I'm glad you're keeping some gameplay element! I prefer that to narrative stories (which is cool too).

Good idea to take a break. I personally take a day off a week where I don't do anything on the game. I've never worked for 10-11 hours straight on it though. Wow. That's quite a lot, no wonder you needed a break.

Keep at it!

[oldblood]

Wow, that photo of the mountains. I thought that was art for the game (on mobile) ... then I actually read it. I'm jealous you got to hike through that.

Haha, wish that's what the art looked like! But I agree, the break was good and delaying things for a few days to refresh isn't necessarily a bad thing. Due dates are all pretty arbitrary in indie dev...

Hey this is coming along nice man, I really like the atmosphere and everything from what you have posted here. I would be interested in trying to help in the beta testing if you still need people.

Thanks, I've added your profiles email!

Yeah. Feel no guilt about taking a break, because then the break will have been for naught and your stress will return. You deserved it and a few days more is nothing. Really nice place you went to. We've finally found some neat forest paths around here, so now I have a second sanctuary besides the tub. Nice places can do a lot for the mood.

You seem to be keeping up the good work!

As for whether snow in June is weird or not, that depends completely on where you are on the planet and I just realised I don't know where you are. :p

Yeah love a good hike or walk in nature. It's a good time for me to think. I grew up in New Hampshire up near Canada so I love mountains and woods, but I've lived in Texas for about 15 years now so getting out of the city and finding snow in June is a big deal (the mountains are in Colorado). Never tried the bathtub route haha, but maybe I should?

I for one I'm glad you're keeping some gameplay element! I prefer that to narrative stories (which is cool too).

Yeah, I actually feel like I need more. I consciously chose to minimize a lot of the traditional gameplay elements a few months back but-- sometimes I do feel like I need more than whats in the game. I have that sinking feeling I'm not including enough but guess I will find out soon enough...

[oahda]

If you have a tub, then of course you should! It's the ultimate way to relax.

[Zizka]

Have you ever played ''ShadowGate'' or ''Deja Vu'' for the NES? I could really picture your game in a similar type (without the sci-fi/fantasy elements).

The fact that you could die in those games really heightened the tension. I wish we could die in your game by making the wrong choices (such as provoking your father).

I mean, it would be cool from my perspective but the game still looks cool anyway, don't get me wrong.

[oldblood]

Have you ever played ''ShadowGate'' or ''Deja Vu'' for the NES? I could really picture your game in a similar type (without the sci-fi/fantasy elements).

The fact that you could die in those games really heightened the tension. I wish we could die in your game by making the wrong choices (such as provoking your father).

I mean, it would be cool from my perspective but the game still looks cool anyway, don't get me wrong.

"Player Death" has been a weird topic for me on this game. Been up and down on it a lot.

My issue with death in Masochisia is... this game is a narrative. If I kill the player, wont that just take you out of the narrative? Now you've been dropped back to some predetermined point where you now to repeat the same story until you get to the point where you correctly do whatever it is I told you to do...

Will it increase tension? Sure. The loss of gameplay, the fear of the chase- all great mechanics in a game. But in a game about a story, are you pulling players out by attempting to kill them while they play... That's my question.

There are monsters in this game, and they will try to kill you. In the demo thats going out (very) soon, I'm curious what you will think about how I handle that. I... bend... some game rules.

And choices will impact the game. But not much until the end. You're almost forced on a set path through the majority of the game, which ties a bit into the whole "can you even change fate" question. But in the end, your decisions do impact how it all ends.

[oldblood]

DEVLOG 57.

Beta I went live last night to a small group of testers who've offered to play and provide feedback on the demo. If you're also interested in testing the demo, just let me know. Hitting this point is another key milestone for the project. The Beta I is Acts 1-3 of the game. 

The next 2.5-3 months are going to get pretty intense for me. No part of game development is "easy" but I'm about to start hitting the more challenging aspects of the process. Speaking of Acts 1-3, here is an updated look at the current FSM:

Can't fit it all on screen anymore... Turning into a beautiful butterfly?

So what's next?

I'm glad you've asked...

Now, I'm going to spend the next 2 or so weeks working on getting Act IV in. I'm hoping during those 2 or so weeks that I will be able to get a decent amount of feedback on the Beta I demo and then I will probably spend a week or so just dedicated to going back and making changes, fixes, improvements etc. to acts 1-3 based on feedback I get from testers.

Over the next month or so, I also need to go through and touch-up a lot of the room art. Some of the areas in the game are from very early into the development process and could use some tweaking and visual improvements so I will also be diving in to update these. Will probably have a devlog on that at some point.

Granted, if people hate the Beta I demo then I may have to revisit my entire schedule...

I will also need to think about diving into things like a trailer, Greenlight and other large items in the next few weeks. I've been operating under the impression that Steam will be easier to get on now than it has been in years past (when Greenlight was a more drawn-out process). But who knows, this is a pretty niche game so my experience may not be what I'm expecting... Either way, I will be transparent with my results here.

But this is getting text-heavy... So have an image...

A very special room you find in the Beta I demo. Where am I?

[nnyei]

Did you send the beta to me as well? Because I haven't received anything (I checked my spam folder as well) and I'd really like to play it. 

[oldblood]

Did you send the beta to me as well? Because I haven't received anything (I checked my spam folder as well) and I'd really like to play it. 

I sent out the email last week. Just tried sending it to you again, let me know if you receive.

The email was to a group BCC, don't think that would have impacted you, but who knows...

[nnyei]

Thank you! I've received it now.

[oldblood]

DEVLOG 58.

Fun Fact: The Alpha I & II have surpassed 3,000 downloads across gamejolt & itch.io

Fun Fact 2: Remember how I wasn't sure if I should do a demo? Glad I didn't listen to myself. There is a lesson in there somewhere about getting out of your comfort zone...

I've hit an interesting point in this devlog... because I spent so much time in May focused on churning out environment art (and Jan - April focused on characters), I don't have a lot of interesting visuals to share in my regular updates. Granted, there are things I haven't shown because they either spoil acts or just because I like to surprise people... but at some level, I miss sharing art on a consistent basis in these devlogs.

But diving in to create new art isn't really necessary right now as I'm almost completely buried in writing dialogue and wiring up the FSM. It will be an ongoing process to slowly revisit each of the rooms and touch up or clean up the art, but at the moment-- that's fallen a bit on the backburner although hopefully that will start really picking up once I'm into July.

***

Speaking of writing... I'm currently about 66% of the way through writing the dialogue for Act IV. The story through the Beta I demo (Acts 1-3) is primarily focused on setting the stage, introducing the characters and setting Hamilton onto his story. We hit a key turning point at the end of Act 3 and Acts 4 & 5 are about things quickly escalating towards some very dark climaxes.

A lot of people found the writing in the early parts of the game very dark, but a key shift as the game progresses is of course what options Hamilton has to respond with. The player will still have the option of resisting the crueler responses and fighting their instincts, BUT-- the "good" responses are getting fewer between and the "bad" responses are getting far more transparent.

I was writing last night and found myself thinking: "Who the fuck would play this shit?"

It's an interesting question...

...but the only answer I can think of...

...is me...

We are Death.

[oldblood]

I've been playing around with the idea of some "get to know the character" promotional images of some of the key characters. Just 3-5 "poster style" images. All fairly simple. Threw this test together last night in a couple minutes.

What do you think?

Exodus 20:12

[Greipur]

I think your mockup looks great, but what I wonder is; what is it for? I think the best kind of media for these kinds of promotional images is physically in the world, as posters. But then, what kind of space would be appropriate for promoting Masochisia?

I assume you want to focus on social media. Think of Twitter, Facebook and the like, that image would be cropped pretty much and you wouldn't see much. For them to go viral I would suggest a landscape format in bite size.

[oldblood]

I think your mockup looks great, but what I wonder is; what is it for? I think the best kind of media for these kinds of promotional images is physically in the world, as posters. But then, what kind of space would be appropriate for promoting Masochisia?

I assume you want to focus on social media. Think of Twitter, Facebook and the like, that image would be cropped pretty much and you wouldn't see much. For them to go viral I would suggest a landscape format in bite size.

Yes, excellent points. Primarily it would be social media focused. I went with a traditional format because... tradition but a different layout would probably be better. It doesn't look bad on social media but other sizes may be better. It could hypothetically also be modified to work for some of the "meta" stuff in Steam like backgrounds. Albeit, morbid backgrounds... Good points, thanks for the feedback.

[oahda]

Sorry for taking so long, but I finally got around to playing the beta yesterday and left you an email. I hope it's not too late for feedback.

[oldblood]

DEVLOG 59.

So what have I been up to as June wraps up and July begins? Currently, there are 3 things occurring in development:

   ● Gathering Beta I Feedback (bugs, suggestions etc)
   ● Writing/Wiring-Up the FSM for Act IV
   ● Touching up the Environment Art throughout

The Act IV roughdraft is in place and I've been receiving a lot of great feedback on the Beta I-- but for the purposes of this devlog, I'm just going to focus the environment art updates and my reasoning behind them.

***

While I haven't received much negative feedback on the game's artwork, tweaking and updating the games environments has been something that's been eating at me for the last month or so. The game-world is constructed by creating a bunch of art assets and then building a "room". The issue is that some of this art was created all the way back in January (as were some of these rooms)...

Additionally, when I made the big push to crank out environment assets in May, a lot of the rooms were thrown together quickly so going back to touch them up is needed. This "refactor" of the art doesn't mean redoing every room. Really, it's about just tweaking and cleaning up (or enhancing) the art that's already there. It's all very subtle, but hopefully helps create a cleaner and improved feel to the visuals.

A good example of a subtle change that was needed: The purple "square" trees outside the Shed. This was an experimental tree style from January that I never ended up using anywhere else in the game with all the other trees using a rounded/circle tree design instead.

Here is an image heavy look at the tweaks and a few comparisons to old rooms to reference:

Old Example: Some of this art is from January and uses a style (e.g. the purple trees) that I eventually scratched...

New Example: Same area re-visited with some subtle improvements & removed old tree style

Old Example: The dining area. Colors a bit washed out, outdoor colors blending with windows, messy statue sprite...

New Example: Changed outdoor lighting. Enhanced colors. Cleaned up statues sprites. Added dirt behind paintings etc.

New Example: Cleaned up statue. More foreground assets. Made bushes blend into ground etc.

New Example: More colors enhanced and deeper darks. Soot behind paintings etc.

New Example: More detail to textures. The hallway gets a bit darker...

[oldblood]

DEVLOG 60.

I'm now 191 days into the development of Masochisia...

...This means I've now dedicated 1.69868374% of my life just to making this "game".

It's important to consider the impact of every day on the entirety of our lives. You'll never know when it's your last day.

But... Let's talk about what I've been up to this week?

***

Beta I fixes. Got a lot of great feedback from testers over the last two weeks which I've been working through this week. Would like to extend a special "Thank You" to everyone who has participated in the beta thus far and sent feedback, suggestions and bugs.

A lot of the feedback surrounded a few key bugs that could set your progression back to a previous state in the game and suggestions around closing the "open world" format of the game. Currently, you can go through the entire map of the game from moment one. The downside to this is that it can lead to players aimlessly wandering, getting lost and generally getting pulled out the narrative. As such, I'm working at "closing" off parts of the game until the player has hit a point in the story where that area is relevant. This will likely make the game feel very linear, BUT-- the primary objective of the game is the narrative. Anything that pulls the player out of the narrative has to be evaluated.

I'm also working on a less rudimentary save system. Currently in the Beta, there is no real "saving". When an Act is completed, its unlocked in the main menu so the only way to save progress is to complete and act, which unlocks the next act in the menu. I need to actually put a real system in place to allow players to leave the story at any point and come back to that exact point later. It needed to happen awhile ago, but it just hasn't been high on my list of priorities...

And of course, I'm still writing. Act 4 is basically done, going to need to start diving into Act 5 next week. It never ends... until it's over. Frankly speaking, I'm honestly hesitant to show much of the work I'm prepping for Act 5 as I honestly think it would negatively impact people's interest in the game (in addition to spoiling parts of the narrative). Put's me in an interesting position in the devlog.

***

I'm also needing to start shifting my attention to things like Greenlight and all the work that goes along with it. I've setup a page for the "game" but I haven't actually touched it yet. I'm essentially waiting until very late in this process to Greenlight under the assumption/hope that I can move through greenlight in a month or less. So I may be taking a risk with this thought process...

I've also lined up a video editor which is good. Once I'm a bit deeper into the trailer, I will probably make a dev post talking about my thoughts on trailers, costs, music etc. But I havent had time to dive into the work there yet with the Editor. Expect more details on both the Greenlight and trailer in the coming weeks...

[Zizka]

A lot of the feedback surrounded a few key bugs that could set your progression back to a previous state in the game and suggestions around closing the "open world" format of the game. Currently, you can go through the entire map of the game from moment one. The downside to this is that it can lead to players aimlessly wandering, getting lost and generally getting pulled out the narrative. As such, I'm working at "closing" off parts of the game until the player has hit a point in the story where that area is relevant. This will likely make the game feel very linear, BUT-- the primary objective of the game is the narrative. Anything that pulls the player out of the narrative has to be evaluated.

Totally. I think you're a stellar narrator, the way you tell the story makes me want to know what's going to happen next. That and the art which is very unique. I've mentioned that in my feedback video but figured I'd put it there too. During act II, I often found myself wanting to skip the parts in between the story elements just so I can get to the next part of the narrative.

[oldblood]

DEVLOG 61.

The trailer... Getting started on all that.

THE MATH

I now have a video editor lined up. That was a bit of a search. For those interested in the numbers behind hiring a video editor. My experiences are working with a PR firm to create a professional trailer is generally starting at around $2,500-3,000+. I've worked with professionals in the past who were willing to make "deals" with an indie and I've paid about $1,500 to work with an independent before who had experience working on a game trailers.

Unfortunately-- my budget is low this time around so I had to go the route of finding a professional video editor with no experience in game trailers (who was looking to expand his portfolio). After talking to about 20 editors, I had bids ranging from around $600-900. It's obviously more risky to work with someone who hasn't worked on other game trailers before but sometimes your budget dictates who you work with...

Of course, some talented developers out there are also talented video editors. If you can put together your own trailer, you can save yourself a nice chunk of change. If you're like me, you're not that good and slapping something together yourself could really fuck with your greenlight campaign and potentially even getting people interested in your game once it's released. Trailers sell your game. To buyers (if youre selling) or players (if its free). You only get one first impression.

Collecting and reviewing footage for the trailer...

THE STYLE

On top of the risk of working with an editor with no trailer experience, I'm also taking a risk with the style of the trailer. Masochisia doesn't have traditional "gameplay" so I need to experiment with the trailer as well as I can't fill a trailer with intense action sequences.

Masochisia is about the mood. The narrative. Ideally, this trailer will just be about mood...

Maybe that will be boring? Potentially. Guess I will find out soon?

What is this place?

THE MUSIC

A friend of mine (who happens to be a very talented musician) has been working on the music for the game. Primarily, the in-game music is subtle and dynamic based on the area you're currently at in the game. I really enjoy the game's music and really need to create a devlog dedicated to sharing some of the music...

For the trailer however, I decided to do something more risky. I decided to license music. And not just any music, but music with lyrics. Typically-- you really don't want music with words and lyrics in your trailer but this particular song (in my opinion) fits the mood of the game almost identically. If ever there was a song to summarize this game, it would be this. It helps that I'm also a big fan of the artist.

Once we're further along into the trailer, I will post a devlog soon that will reveal the track and talk in a bit more detail about the licensing process for anyone who may be interested in this. More details to come on this very soon...

THE SUMMARY

In short, this is a non-traditional game and in my opinion, the game deserves a non-traditional trailer. The potential downside to this is: This trailer could be a total disaster. But, if we're going to think positively-- then perhaps something non traditional will then be: Memorable.

I don't have a firm date for the trailer at this point. But, my goal is to launch a Steam Greenlight campaign by the end of July which is about 2-2.5 weeks out. Of course, if I'm going to have a Greenlight, I'm going to need a trailer. So I guess I have a schedule?

Expect to hear more on the trailer, music licensing and the Greenlight over the next two weeks...

[oldblood]

DEVLOG 62.

Another week has passed. Really, the days are just sailing the last few months. The day's are just a blur. It's all confounded by I've been in my own personal haze the last weeks. I will spare you the gory details but had a lot of shit go down this week.

I haven't talked to my doctor in a few months. I'm probably due.

Cutting to the chase...

Here's whats been occurring this last week:

      ● Finished the "Save" system. The game automatically saves exactly where you are when you exit the game
      ● Lots of other small bug fixes from the Beta I feedback...
      ● Setting up Act 5 FSM
      ● Lots of Video capture for the trailer
      ● Got a "first-pass" of the Greenlight page setup

I've got a lot of things to do by the end of July and we're already 20 days in. I've got a small mountain of dialogue to write for Act 5 this week and I need to compile my notes to outline the FSM for Act 6 in addition to working with the video editor and trying to prep the Greenlight.

I'm seriously debating taking an extra week once Act 5 is over to pause developing Act 6 just so I can go back and test/polish up Act 4 & 5. They're technically "in" right now but they're far from final and they need a lot of polish so before I proceed, I should probably take the time to step back and address some of the issues before I get to Act 6 and shift focus to "wrapping up" the story.

...In a perfect world... This game will be done by mid-September. That's about 8-9 weeks away. When I think about that in terms of how tired I am, that sounds like an eternity. When I think about it in terms of how much work I still have to do... that's not nearly enough time...